Occupy Nashville protesters released: Occupy Nashville protesters are released after being detained by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for several hours Friday.

Occupy Nashville protesters who were arrest earlier in the morning by State Police, hold up their citations after they were released from jail..
JOHN PARTIPILO/THE TENNESSEAN / John Partipilo/The Tennessean

In the email, obtained by The Tennessean, Nelson said he ordered all of the protesters released from custody because the state had not given the protesters adequate notice that it was changing the rules regarding how and when they could assemble on Legislative Plaza.

Nelson said “until the new rules and regulations were promulgated there was no crime of Criminal Trespass pertaining to this group of persons for the past 3 weeks.’’

He noted “It is of particular consternation that the rules and curfew were enacted after a protest movement and occupation of Legislative Plaza had been tolerated for just over 3 weeks, with no notice that the group members were involved in criminal activity.’’

Nelson said the protesters should have been given a “reasonable opportunity’’ to apply for the requisite permit.

“Fourteen hours is woefully inadequate time within which to allow the group an opportunity to comply with the newly enacted rules, regulations, curfew and permit requirements,’’ Nelson said in the email.

State spokeswoman Lola Potter said that as of late Friday afternoon, no assembly permit for Occupy Nashville had been filed with the state.

UPDATED 11:30am

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed off on the plan to arrest the Occupy Nashville protesters, said Bill Gibbons, Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security at a 10:30 a.m. press conference with reporters.

He said the state stands by its action and insists it didn’t overreact.

“They were very aware that they were trespassing,’’ Gibbons said of the protesters.

The Occupy Nashville protesters who were arrested at 3:10 a.m. today at Legislative Plaza, for violating a state-imposed curfew, were held by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for several hours after a night court commissioner refused to sign warrants for their arrests.

Just before 9 a.m. a group of protesters emerged from a downtown parking garage cheering and waving criminal trespass citations.

“It’s a victory because we have the right to stay at the (Legislative) Plaza,’’ Paula Painter, one of those arrested, said.

The protesters defiantly marched back to Legislative Plaza upon their release. Honks of support from vehicles accompanied them up Deaderick Street as the group chanted, “Whose plaza? Our plaza! Whose plaza? Your plaza!” and “We’re still here! We’re still here!”

Karla Weikal, spokeswoman for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, said the protesters were taken to the sheriff’s office earlier today where they were booked. Night Court Commissioner Tom Nelson refused to sign the warrants after finding there was not probable cause to charge them, Weikal said.

The protesters were then released back to the THP, Weikal said, where they each received misdemeanor citations for criminal trespassing.

Patrick Frogge, attorney for some of the Occupy Nashville protesters, said Nelson denied the arrest warrants at 4 a.m., but at 8:45 a.m. the arrested protesters could not be located. “Somebody’s been holding them—we think THP—since then,’’ Frogge said at the time.

The Tennessee Department of Safety issued a press release this morning confirming that 29 protesters were arrested. The department said it was enforcing a revised state policy that makes the Legislative Plaza, War Memorial Courtyard, and Capitol grounds areas closed to the public from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol, which provides security for those areas, sent 75 state troopers to the plaza at 3 a.m. and “asked Occupy Nashville protesters to leave,’’ according to the department of safety press release.

Two dozen protesters left without incident, according to the release, but the others who refused to leave were put in handcuffs and taken, or dragged, to two buses.

The protesters were “transported to the Davidson County Jail where troopers issued them misdemeanor citations for criminal trespassing (a class C misdemeanor).’’ They were released shortly before 9 a.m., according to the department of safety press release.

State officials make no mention of the fact that Nelson refused to sign the warrants.

A court date has been set in Davidson County General Sessions Court for Nov. 18.

“The Department of Safety and Homeland Security took the appropriate action to support the state’s revised policy that the Legislative Plaza is not to be used at night without specific authorization. The policy was revised for security reasons, and the protestors were aware of the policy. The process was handled by state troopers in a professional manner and without incident. It is our responsibility to keep the protesters safe on state property, along with citizens who work, live and enjoy downtown. We all must work together to ensure a safe environment,” a state press release said, quoting Gibbons.

The release went on to say “The Department of Safety and Homeland Security enforced the curfew policy at the least disruptive time to citizens who visit, work, and live in downtown Nashville.’’

Katy Savage recalled how she peeked out of her tent to see the officers lining up across the plaza in the middle of the night.

“As a citizen of this state, I’m horrified that they would practice these techniques against people who are peacefully exercising their rights of free speech,’’ Savage said.

Savage followed the order to leave. The protesters who stayed, she said, “were manhandled, but they did not resist. They went peacefully.”

No one was injured. One woman did collapse onto the sidewalk and appeared to have a seizure and emergency workers were called.

The arrests came despite the state’s pledge that it would not take action against the protesters immediately after issuing the revised policy outlining when Legislative Plaza could be used by the public.

Lola Potter, spokeswoman for the state General Services office, which rewrote the rules for Legislative Plaza Thursday, pledged to give the group more time.

“We can’t expect them to get a permit today because we just announced the policy (Thursday),” Potter said Thursday. “We’re asking them to have a permit for (Friday).”

The revised policy also states protests are allowed by permit between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Those permits cost $65 a day and groups will be required to buy $1 million in liability insurance coverage.

Local media captured footage and photos of protesters being dragged from the plaza.

One of those arrested was Adam Knight, an eighth-grade English teacher at Two Rivers Middle School.

“I’ve already arranged a substitute for tomorrow,” he said as hundreds of supporters gathered in the plaza Thursday evening. “This is something I believe in.”

Asked whether he was worried that his activism could jeopardize his job with Metro Schools, Knight quoted Martin Luther King: “You can’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe because you’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized.”

One of Knight’s 13-year-old students watched as he was thrown to the ground, cuffed with zip ties and dragged from the plaza. The student had persuaded his parents to take him to the plaza to watch the demonstration.

His horrified parents remained with Charles on the sidewalks outside Legislative Plaza after the protesters were arrested and rows of state troopers took up position to block anyone from setting foot onto the once-public space.

“They’re telling me we don’t have the right to gather?” his step-father John Henry said.

Neither the troopers nor the protesters became violent – although some onlookers yelled angrily at law enforcement, crying “Shame!” and “You’re the 99 percent, too!”

The Occupy Wall Street Movement has sparked protests in cities across the nation. Protesters say they’re taking a stand against corporate greed and a nation where they feel increasingly marginalized.

But state officials argued that Occupy Nashville’s occupation of Legislative Plaza was becoming a public safety issue and a nuisance. There have been growing reports of thefts and disturbances on the plaza – mainly from homeless people not directly connected to the movement, but drawn to the fact the activists have food and shelter.

“Criminal activity and deteriorating sanitary conditions over the past several days on Legislative Plaza have created an environment that is unsafe for the protesters, state employees and everyone who works, lives and enjoys downtown,” Potter said. “I think we have a responsibility to maintain safety and security. It’s part of the Capitol.”

Occupy Nashville counters that the state created the safety problems by not patrolling the plaza. Without a law enforcement presence, they said, the occupiers were quickly overwhelmed by the homeless.

Protester Megan Riggs said the group will discuss what to do next at its nightly general assembly at 7 p.m.

She said the group has given consideration to following the state’s new permitting requirements for Legislative Plaza but that there was a “block” on the idea when it was brought up at Thursday’s general assembly.

“A block means that someone is morally opposed to that idea, and that they will leave the movement because of that,” Riggs said.

Riggs, 25, said the group was caught by surprise by the early morning arrests. The group had prepared itself to fight an eviction the night before, based on General Services Commissioner Steven Cates previously telling the group to leave by 8 p.m. Thursday.

“I didn’t know what to do,’’ Riggs said.

After waking up to the arrival of state troopers, Riggs said she locked arms with several other protesters who refused to leave the plaza and was arrested.

“We weren’t flailing,” she said. “We weren’t resisting arrest. We were just trying to make it difficult to take away our First Amendment right.”

Some protesters complained about the tightness of their hand restraints, but Riggs said their hours-long detainment was relatively light-hearted with protesters singing and doing yoga while they awaiting release.

-Brian Haas and Brandon Gee contributed to this report“We were talking,” Riggs said. “We were smiling. We were reminding each other that the police acted in our case much more professionally than in other cities and that we should be thankful for that.”

REPORTED EARLIER

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed off on the plan to arrest the protesters, said Bill Gibbons, Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security at a 10:30 a.m. press conference.

He said the state stands by its action and insists it didn't overreact.

There were 75 state troopers at the plaza last night to handle the arrests. There were 64 protesters and 29 were arrested after 3 a.m. today.

Updated 9:50am

Occupy Nashville released a statement this morning saying that the new state policy--under which 29 protesters were arrested soon after 3 a.m. Friday--is in direct violation of U.S. and state constitutional rights, and that as "free people of Tennessee" they intended to protect their constitutional right to assemble.

"We intend to resist this illegal action by the state in a peaceful and dignified manner," the group said in its press release.

It pointed out that Legislative Plaza is a publicly owned space and an appropriate and legal place to gather "for the purpose of petitioning and applying for a redress of grievances."

The state issued its own press release. "The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security early Friday morning enforced a revised state policy that makes the Legislative Plaza, War Memorial Courtyard, and Capitol grounds areas closed to the public from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. daily."

It stated that the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which provides security for Legislative Plaza, asked Occupy Nashville protesters to leave at 3:10 a.m.

"Approximately two dozen protesters left the plaza without incident. Troopers arrested 29 protesters who refused to leave. The protesters were transported to the Davidson County Jail where troopers issued them misdemeanor citations for criminal trespassing (a class C misdemeanor)."

Occupy Nashville quoted the First Amendment of the United States Constitution in its release: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

It also quoted Article 1 of the Tennessee State Constitution regarding right of assembly; redress of grievances: "That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for a redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by address or remonstrance."

UPDATED: 9:45 a.m.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security issued a statement, saying that Tennessee Highway Patrol asked the protesters to leave Legislative Plaza at 3:10 a.m.

Troopers arrested 29 Occupy Nashville members who refused to leave when asked, transported them to the Davidson County Jail where troopers issued misdemeanor citations for criminal trespassing, a Class C misdemeanor.

The statement also said that the protesters were released shortly before 9 a.m. and that 75 troopers were involved.

UPDATED 9:05 am

Just before 9 a.m., the Occupy Nashville protesters emerged from a downtown parking garage cheering and waving criminal trespass citations. They had been legally released at 4 a.m., but apparently detained by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. THP moved onto Legislative Plaza at 3 a.m. and gave protesters a 10-minute warning to leave. More than two dozen did not and were arrested.

They were transported to Night Court, and a handful of them appeared in court before Commissioner Tom Nelson. When he refused to sign the warrants for their arrest at approximately 4 a.m., the rest of them were not processed.

But Patrick Frogge, attorney for some of the Occupy Nashville protesters said they were not set free at that point. "Somebody's been holding them--we think THP--since then."

UPDATED: 8:45am

After being detained for several hours, about 30 Occupy Nashville protesters who were arrested after 3 a.m., appear on the verge of being released.

A Tennessean reporter at Night Court said he could see protesters emerging from the building.

This is a breaking news situation and The Tennessean will continue to update with the latest information as we report it.

UPDATED at 8:20am

Despite the fact that an official from Night Court says that the Occupy Nashville protesters were released hours ago, a spokesperson for the protesters say they are still being held by Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Occupy member Darlene Nea, said those arrested are being held on a bus, in a parking garage somewhere in Nashville. She said they were issued criminal trespass citations by the THP -- after the judge declined to take up the case.

"No one from the highway patrol has told us where," they are being held, she said. Reading a statement on behalf of the group, "We fear the arrested members are being illegally detained and we demand our members' immediate release without harm."

This is a breaking news situation and The Tennessean will continue to update with the latest information as we report it.

UPDATED at 7:55am

Night Court Commissioner Steve Holzapfel has confirmed that the Occupy Nashville protesters arrested in the middle of the night on Legislative Plaza have been released.

He said the arrest warrants were either denied or not signed. "I'm not sure why not," he said. The protesters appeared before Commissioner Tom Nelson, who was on duty overnight.

Holzapfel said he could not speak for Nelson did say "Generally, if a warrant is not issued, there is no probable cause."

Occupy Nashville protesters have told The Tennessean that those arrested were cited for criminal trespassing by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ordered to appear in court on Nov. 18.

"Absolutely, it was worth it," said Shauna Tluskota, who was arrested, cuffed and held in a holding cell throughout the early morning. "We all sat in a holding cell all night. We spent our time singing, communicating with each other and saying how much this was worth it."

Another protester Christopher Anderson, who was not arrested, said "The judge wouldn't even hear it." He said that THP issued the citations for criminal trespassing.

UPDATED at 7:20 am

Occupy Nashville protesters at Legislative Plaza have told The Tennessean that protesters who were arrested around 3 a.m. by the Tennessee Highway Patrol have been released and charges dropped.

About 25 protesters were arrested beginning after 3 a.m. and arrested all members of the Occupy Nashville who would not leave the Plaza when ordered to do so.

According to Occupy Nashville protester Steve Reiter, the protesters were brought to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office for booking and appeared before Night Court Commissioner Tom Nelson.

"He exercised his discretion and did not sign the warrants" for their arrest, said Reiter.

The Tennessean is working to confirm this information with the Sheriff's office.

As of 7:20 a.m., Legislative Plaza remained closed, despite new policies put in place that said it would reopen at 6 a.m.

UPDATED at 6:30am

After arresting a couple dozen protesters in the middle of the night, Tennessee Highway Patrol has not yet reopened Legislative Plaza to the public.

The state of Tennessee imposed a new curfew on Thursday and posted signs stating that the plaza and other areas around the Capitol would be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Two protesters told a Tennessean reporter they were not allowed on the plaza after 6 a.m., and Tennessean journalists were asked to leave the Plaza.

David Carpenter, facility administrator of the Capitol Complex, said the plaza was not currently open but would reopen soon. "We making sure the site is safe."

According to the newly drafted rules, protests would be allowed on Legislative Plaza by permit between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Those permits would cost $65 a day and groups would also be required to buy $1 million in liability insurance coverage.

REPORTED EARLIER

A large force of THP troopers moved on to Legislative Plaza just after 3 a.m. this morning and arrested all members of the Occupy Nashville who would not leave the Plaza when ordered to do so.

Witnesses said the officers marched in mass unto the plaza, stood there for several minutes, then an officer with a bullhorn told them they were being served notice and that anyone that was still on the plaza in 10 minutes would be arrested.

Some protesters left the plaza but about two dozen refused to do that and were handcuffed and loaded onto buses. No one was injured. One woman did collapse onto the sidewalk and appeared to have a seizure and emergency workers were called.

After the arrests, the protesters who left the plaza gathered on the sidewalks and continued chanting. THP officers allowed them to remain on the sidewalks but stood guard and would not let anyone return to the actual plaza property.

Officers would not comment about the arrests but said a statement would be issued later this morning.